System and method for designing electromagnetic navigation antenna assemblies

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method of designing an antenna assembly for radiating an electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation is provided. Multiple diagonal lines are computed, relative to a coordinate system of a substrate having a boundary, based on a seed rectangle having multiple vertices. Each diagonal line bisects a respective vertex of the seed rectangle, and extends from that vertex to the boundary. For each diagonal line, distances between adjacent pairs of planar antenna vertices to be positioned along the respective diagonal line are determined, and the planar antenna vertices are positioned along the respective diagonal line based on the determined distances. The distances increase in a direction from the respective vertex of the seed rectangle to the boundary. A planar antenna layout is generated by interconnecting the planar antenna vertices by way of respective straight linear portions to form multiple loops that sequentially traverse each of the diagonal lines.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to antenna assemblies for electromagneticnavigation and methods for designing such antenna assemblies. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to antenna assemblies forradiating electromagnetic fields for electromagnetic navigation,electromagnetic navigation systems including such antenna assemblies,and computer-implemented methods of designing such antenna assemblies.

Discussion of Related Art

Electromagnetic (EM) navigation (EMN) has helped expand medical imaging,diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment capabilities by enabling a locationand/or an orientation of a medical device to be accurately determinedwhile the device is within the body of a patient. One example of amedical procedure in which EMN is employed is ELECTROMAGNETIC NAVIGATIONBRONCHOSCOPY® (ENB™), which includes a planning phase and a navigationphase. During the planning phase, a computed tomography (CT) scan of thechest of the patient is used to generate a virtual three-dimensionalbronchial map of the patient and a planned pathway for the navigationphase. During the navigation phase, an antenna assembly radiates anelectromagnetic field throughout the chest of the patient, apractitioner inserts into the airway of the patient an electromagneticsensor that senses the radiated electromagnetic field, and a computingdevice determines a location and/or an orientation (e.g., relative tothe planned pathway) of the electromagnetic sensor based oncharacteristics of the sensed electromagnetic field.

To enable accurate determination of sensor location and/or orientation,a detailed mapping of electromagnetic field measurements at respectivesensor locations is generated. Generating such a mapping, however,requires taking precise electromagnetic field measurements at many (forexample, hundreds of thousands or more) locations within the expectedelectromagnetic volume, which is a laborious and time-consuming processthat, in some cases, requires expensive machines.

The burden of generating electromagnetic field mappings increases incircumstances where multiple antenna assemblies are employed. Forexample, in order to enable an electromagnetic sensor to reach deeperportions of the body of the patient, and/or remain within the bodyduring subsequent medical procedures without interfering with additionalmedical devices, it may be desirable to employ a small electromagneticsensor, such as a single-coil electromagnetic sensor. However, to employa small electromagnetic sensor for EMN while maintaining the ability todetermine multiple (for example, six) degrees of freedom of the sensor,multiple antenna assemblies may be required to increase the number ofradiated electromagnetic fields to be sensed. In such a case, theabove-noted exhaustive mapping procedure may need to be conducted foreach antenna assembly design. Moreover, given potential variations frommanufacturing, the mapping procedure may even need to be completed foreach instance of a specific antenna assembly design (i.e., eachindividual antenna assembly manufactured).

Given the foregoing, a need exists for improved electromagneticnavigation antenna assemblies and methods for designing such antennaassemblies.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an antenna assemblyfor radiating at least one electromagnetic field for electromagneticnavigation is provided. The antenna assembly includes a substrate and aplanar antenna including a trace that is deposited on the substrate andarranged in multiple loops. Respective distances between adjacent pairsof the loops increase in a direction from an innermost loop to anoutermost loop.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the loops includesmultiple straight linear portions and multiple vertices. For example, insome aspects, each of the loops includes four straight linear portionsand four vertices.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, each of the vertices isdisposed along one of four diagonal lines that bisect four respectivevertices of a seed rectangle corresponding to the planar antenna.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the antenna assemblyfurther includes a connector having at least two terminals, and thetrace has two ends that are coupled to the two terminals, respectively.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the antenna assemblyincludes multiple planar antennas, and each of the multiple planarantennas includes a respective trace deposited on the substrate andarranged in a respective set of loops. For each of the planar antennas,respective distances between adjacent pairs of the loops of therespective planar antenna increase in a direction from an innermost loopto an outermost loop.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the substrate includesmultiple layers and the planar antenna and each of the multiple planarantennas is deposited on a respective one of the layers.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the planar antennasincludes a same number of loops.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the loops includesmultiple straight linear portions and multiple vertices.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the planar antennas haverespective centroids, with respect to a plane of the substrate, that aredisposed in respective positions that are distinct from one another.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, anelectromagnetic navigation system is provided. The system includes anantenna assembly, an alternating current (AC) current driver that drivesthe antenna assembly, a catheter, an electromagnetic sensor, aprocessor, and a memory. The antenna assembly includes a substrate and aplanar antenna and is configured to radiate an electromagnetic field.The planar antenna includes a trace deposited on the substrate andarranged in multiple loops. Respective distances between adjacent pairsof the loops increase in a direction from an innermost one of the loopsto an outermost one of the loops. The electromagnetic sensor is affixedto the catheter and is configured to receive a signal based on theradiated electromagnetic field. The memory includes instructions that,when executed by the processor, cause the processor to calculate alocation and/or an orientation of the electromagnetic sensor based onthe received signal.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the loops includesmultiple straight linear portions and multiple vertices. For example, insome aspects each of the loops includes four straight linear portionsand four vertices.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, each of the vertices isdisposed along one of four diagonal lines that bisect four respectivevertices of a seed rectangle corresponding to the planar antenna.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the antenna assemblyfurther includes a connector having at least two terminals, and thetrace has two ends that are coupled to the two terminals, respectively.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the antenna assemblyincludes multiple planar antennas, each of the planar antennas includinga respective trace deposited on the substrate and arranged in arespective set of loops. For each of the planar antennas, respectivedistances between adjacent pairs of the loops increase in a directionfrom an innermost one of the loops to an outermost one of the loops ofthe respective planar antenna.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the substrate includesmultiple layers and each of the planar antennas is deposited on arespective layer of the multiple layers.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the planar antennasincludes a same number of loops.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the loops of eachof the planar antennas includes multiple straight linear portions andmultiple vertices.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the multiple planarantennas have multiple centroids, respectively, with respect to a planeof the substrate that are disposed in respective positions that aredistinct from one another.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an antennaassembly for radiating multiple electromagnetic fields forelectromagnetic navigation is provided. The antenna assembly includes asubstrate and multiple groups of planar antennas. The substrate includesa multiple layers, and each of the planar antennas includes a respectivetrace that is deposited on a respective layer of the multiple layers andis arranged in a respective number of loops. Each of the groups ofplanar antennas includes a first planar antenna, a second planarantenna, and a third planar antenna. For each of the groups of planarantennas: (1) an innermost loop of the first planar antenna has a firstlinear portion and a second linear portion approximately perpendicularto the first linear portion, (2) an innermost loop of the second planarantenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portionapproximately perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer thanthe first linear portion, (3) an innermost loop of the third planarantenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portionapproximately perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer thanthe first linear portion, (4) the first linear portion of the innermostloop of the second planar antenna is approximately parallel to the firstlinear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna, and(5) the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the third planarantenna is approximately parallel to the second linear portion of theinnermost loop of the first planar antenna.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, for each of the planarantennas, respective distances between adjacent loops of the multipleloops increase in a direction from an innermost loop of the multipleloops to an outermost loop of the multiple loops.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the respective innermostloops of the first planar antennas of each group are positioned, on therespective layers of the multiple layers, at respective angles that aredistinct from one another.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the multipleloops includes multiple straight linear portions and multiple vertices.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, for each planar antenna ofthe multiple planar antennas, each of the multiple vertices is disposedalong one of four diagonal lines that bisect four respective vertices ofa seed rectangle corresponding to the respective planar antenna of themultiple planar antennas.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, respective outermostvertices of the multiple vertices of the multiple planar antennas aredistanced from an edge of the substrate by not more than a predeterminedthreshold.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the planar antennashave respective centroids, with respect to a plane of the substrate,that are distinct from one another.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the planar antennasincludes a same number of loops.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the number of groups ofplanar antennas is at least three.

In still another aspect of the present disclosure, the antenna assemblyfurther includes a connector having multiple terminals, and each of therespective traces of the multiple planar antennas is coupled to arespective terminal of the multiple terminals.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, anelectromagnetic navigation system is provided that includes an antennaassembly, a catheter, an electromagnetic sensor, a processor, and amemory. The antenna assembly is configured to radiate electromagneticfields and includes a substrate and multiple groups of planar antennas.The substrate includes multiple layers, and each of the planar antennasincludes a respective trace that is deposited on a respective layer ofthe multiple layers and is arranged in a respective number of loops.Each of the groups of planar antennas includes a first planar antenna, asecond planar antenna, and a third planar antenna. For each of themultiple groups of planar antennas: (1) an innermost loop of the firstplanar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portionapproximately perpendicular to the first linear portion, (2) aninnermost loop of the second planar antenna has a first linear portionand a second linear portion approximately perpendicular to the firstlinear portion and longer than the first linear portion, (3) aninnermost loop of the third planar antenna has a first linear portionand a second linear portion approximately perpendicular to the firstlinear portion and longer than the first linear portion, (4) the firstlinear portion of the innermost loop of the second planar antenna isapproximately parallel to the first linear portion of the innermost loopof the first planar antenna, and (5) the first linear portion of theinnermost loop of the third planar antenna is approximately parallel tothe second linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planarantenna. The electromagnetic sensor is affixed to the catheter and isconfigured to receive one or more signals based on the radiatedelectromagnetic fields. The memory includes instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to calculate a locationand/or an orientation of the electromagnetic sensor based on thereceived signal(s).

In another aspect of the present disclosure, for each of the planarantennas, respective distances between adjacent loops of the multipleloops increase in a direction from an innermost loop of the multipleloops to an outermost loop of the multiple loops.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the respective innermostloops of the first planar antennas of each group are positioned, on therespective layers of the multiple layers, at respective angles that aredistinct from one another.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the multipleloops includes multiple straight linear portions and multiple vertices.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, for each planar antenna ofthe multiple planar antennas, each of the multiple vertices is disposedalong one of four diagonal lines that bisect four respective vertices ofa seed rectangle corresponding to the respective planar antenna of themultiple planar antennas.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, respective outermostvertices of the multiple vertices of the multiple planar antennas aredistanced from an edge of the substrate by not more than a predeterminedthreshold.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the multiple planarantennas have multiple respective centroids, with respect to a plane ofthe substrate, that are distinct from one another.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the planar antennasincludes a same number of loops.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the number of groups ofplanar antennas is at least three.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the electromagneticnavigation system further includes a connector that has multipleterminals, and each of the respective traces of the multiple planarantennas is coupled to a respective terminal of the multiple terminals.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, acomputer-implemented method of designing an antenna assembly forradiating an electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation isprovided. The method includes computing, relative to a coordinate systemof a substrate that has a boundary, multiple diagonal lines based on aseed rectangle that has multiple vertices, respectively. The multiplediagonal lines bisect the multiple vertices of the seed rectangle,respectively, and extend from the multiple vertices of the seedrectangle, respectively, to the boundary. The method also includes, foreach of the multiple diagonal lines: (1) determining multiple distancesbetween multiple adjacent pairs of planar antenna vertices,respectively, to be positioned along the respective diagonal line,wherein the multiple distances increase in a direction from therespective vertex of the seed rectangle to the boundary, and (2)positioning the planar antenna vertices along the respective diagonalline based on the determined multiple distances. A planar antenna layoutis generated by interconnecting the planar antenna vertices by way ofrespective straight linear portions to form multiple loops thatsequentially traverse each of the multiple diagonal lines.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the multiple distances aredetermined based at least in part on a predetermined number of loops ofthe planar antenna.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the multiple distancesare determined based at least in part on a predetermined minimum spacingbetween adjacent vertices and/or a predetermined minimum spacing betweenadjacent traces.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the substrate hasmultiple layers and the method further includes generating multipleplanar antenna layouts corresponding to the multiple layers,respectively.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the computer-implementedmethod further includes adding to the planar antenna layout multiplestraight linear portions routed from at least two of the planar antennavertices to a connector location with respect to the coordinate systemof the substrate.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the computer-implementedmethod further includes computing, for each of the multiple diagonallines, a layout distance between the respective vertex of the seedrectangle and the boundary along the respective diagonal line, and thedetermining of the multiple distances between the multiple pairs ofadjacent planar antenna vertices, respectively, is based at least inpart on the computed layout distance.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the multipleloops includes multiple of the straight linear portions and multiple ofthe planar antenna vertices.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, an outermost planar antennavertex of the multiple planar antenna vertices is distanced from theboundary of the substrate by not more than a predetermined threshold.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the computer-implementedmethod further includes exporting data corresponding to the generatedplanar antenna layout to a circuit board routing tool and/or a circuitboard manufacturing tool.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, thecomputer-implemented method further includes exporting datacorresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to anelectromagnetic simulation tool and simulating, based on the exporteddata, an electromagnetic field based on superposition of multipleelectromagnetic field components from the multiple straight linearportions of the planar antenna layout, respectively.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium is provided, which stores instructions that,when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method ofdesigning an antenna assembly for radiating an electromagnetic field forelectromagnetic navigation. The method includes computing, relative to acoordinate system of a substrate having a boundary, multiple diagonallines based on a seed rectangle that has multiple vertices,respectively. The multiple diagonal lines bisect the multiple verticesof the seed rectangle, respectively, and extend from the multiplevertices of the seed rectangle, respectively, to the boundary. Themethod further includes, for each of the multiple diagonal lines, (1)determining multiple respective distances between multiple adjacentpairs of planar antenna vertices to be positioned along the respectivediagonal line, and (2) positioning the planar antenna vertices along therespective diagonal line based on the determined multiple distances. Themultiple distances increase in a direction from the respective vertex ofthe seed rectangle to the boundary. A planar antenna layout is generatedby interconnecting the planar antenna vertices by way of respectivestraight linear portions to form multiple loops that sequentiallytraverse each of the multiple diagonal lines.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the multiple distances aredetermined based at least in part on a predetermined number of loops ofthe planar antenna.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the multiple distancesare determined based at least in part on a predetermined minimum spacingbetween adjacent vertices and/or a predetermined minimum spacing betweenadjacent traces.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the substrate hasmultiple layers and the method further includes generating multipleplanar antenna layouts that correspond to the multiple layers,respectively.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includesadding to the planar antenna layout multiple straight linear portionsrouted from at least two of the planar antenna vertices to a connectorlocation with respect to the coordinate system of the substrate.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the method furthercomprises, for each of the plurality of diagonal lines, computing alayout distance between the respective vertex of the seed rectangle andthe boundary along the respective diagonal line, and the determining ofthe multiple distances between the multiple pairs of adjacent planarantenna vertices, respectively, is based at least in part on thecomputed layout distance.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the multipleloops includes multiple of the straight linear portions and multiple ofthe planar antenna vertices.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, an outermost planar antennavertex of the multiple planar antenna vertices is distanced from theboundary of the substrate by not more than a predetermined threshold.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the method furtherincludes exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antennalayout to a circuit board routing tool and/or a circuit boardmanufacturing tool.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the method furtherincludes exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antennalayout to an electromagnetic simulation tool and simulating, based onthe exported data, an electromagnetic field based on superposition ofmultiple electromagnetic field components from the multiple straightlinear portions of the planar antenna layout, respectively.

Any of the above aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure maybe combined without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Objects and features of the presently disclosed systems and methods willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when descriptionsof various embodiments are read with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example electromagnetic navigation(EMN) system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows an example design of an antenna assembly of the EMN systemin accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example procedure for designing anantenna assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 4-11 are example graphical representations of certain aspects ofthe procedure of FIG. 3, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 12 is an illustration of multiple example antennas that may bedesigned according to the procedure of FIG. 3, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 shows an example design of a loop antenna layout traceplacement, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example computing device for use invarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to antenna assemblies for radiatingelectromagnetic fields for electromagnetic navigation, electromagneticnavigation systems that include such antenna assemblies, andcomputer-implemented methods of designing such antenna assemblies. Inone example, by virtue of geometrical and other aspects of an antennaassembly herein, the need to generate and employ a detailedelectromagnetic field mapping can be avoided by instead enabling anelectromagnetic field mapping, theoretically computed based oncharacteristics of the antenna assembly, to be employed either alone orin conjunction with a more easily generated low-density electromagneticfield mapping obtained from measurements. In other words, the antennaassembly herein can serve as the basis upon which to generate anaccurate high-density theoretical electromagnetic field mapping for EMN,without having to use expensive measuring equipment and without havingto perform time-consuming and laborious measurements.

In another example, an antenna assembly herein includes on a singlesubstrate multiple planar antennas having characteristics, such asgeometries and/or relative locations that are diverse from one another,that enable multiple (for example, six) degrees of freedom of a smallelectromagnetic sensor, such as a single-coil sensor, to be determined.

In yet another example, an antenna assembly herein includes a trace thatis deposited on a layer of a substrate and that forms multiple loopswith the spacing between loops and the spacing from a boundary or edgeof the substrate that result in efficient use of the available area ofthe substrate.

In a further example, an automated, or semi-automated, highlyreproducible computer-implemented method for designing an antennaassembly is provided herein. An antenna assembly design generated inthis manner can be exported into a printed circuit board (PCB) layoutsoftware tool to minimize the need for a large amount of manual layout.The antenna assembly design can also be exported into an electromagneticfield simulator software tool to enable the generation of a theoreticalelectromagnetic field mapping for the antenna assembly.

Detailed embodiments of antenna assemblies, systems incorporating suchantenna assemblies, and methods of designing the same are describedherein. These detailed embodiments, however, are merely examples of thedisclosure, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specificstructural and functional details disclosed herein are not to beinterpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as arepresentative basis for enabling one skilled in the art to variouslyemploy the present disclosure in virtually any appropriately detailedstructure. While the example embodiments described below are directed tothe bronchoscopy of a patient's airways, those skilled in the art willrecognize that the same or similar assemblies, systems, and methods mayalso be used in other lumen networks, such as, for example, thevascular, lymphatic, and/or gastrointestinal networks.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example electromagnetic navigation (EMN) system100 provided in accordance with the present disclosure. In general, theEMN system 100 is configured to identify a location and/or anorientation of a medical device being navigated toward a target locationwithin the patient's body by using, among other things, an antennaassembly that generates one or more electromagnetic fields that aresensed by a sensor affixed to the medical device. In some cases, the EMNsystem 100 is further configured to augment computed tomography (CT)images, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images, and/or fluoroscopicimages employed during navigation of the medical device through thepatient's body toward a target of interest, such as a deceased portionin a luminal network of the patient's lung.

The EMN system 100 includes a catheter guide assembly 110, abronchoscope 115, a computing device 120, a monitoring device 130, apatient platform 140 (which may be referred to as an EM board), atracking device 160, and reference sensors 170. The bronchoscope 115 isoperatively coupled to the computing device 120 (by way of the trackingdevice 160) and the monitoring device 130 via respective wiredconnections (as shown in FIG. 1) or wireless connections (not shown inFIG. 1).

During a navigation phase of an EMN bronchoscopy procedure, thebronchoscope 115 is inserted into the oral cavity of a patient 150 andcaptures images of the luminal network of the lung. The catheter guideassembly 110 is inserted into the bronchoscope 115 to access theperiphery of the luminal network of the lung of the patient 150. Thecatheter guide assembly 110 may include a catheter or extended workingchannel (EWC) 111 with an EM sensor 112 affixed to a portion (forexample, a distal portion) of the EWC 111. A locatable guide catheter(LG) may be inserted into the EWC 111 with another EM sensor (not shownin FIG. 1) affixed to a portion (for example, a distal portion) of theLG. The EM sensor 112 affixed to the EWC 111 or the EM sensor affixed tothe LG is configured to receive a signal based on an electromagneticfield radiated by the antenna assembly 145, and based upon the receivedsignal, is used to determine a location and/or an orientation of the EWC111 or the LG during navigation through the luminal network of the lung.Due to the size restriction of the EM sensor 112 relative to the EWC 111or the LG, in some cases the EM sensor 112 may include only a singlecoil for receiving one or more EM signals generated by way of an antennaassembly 145 as described in further detail below. However, the numberof coils in the EM sensor 112 is not limited to one but may be two,three, or more.

The computing device 120, such as a laptop, desktop, tablet, or othersuitable computing device, includes a display 122, one or moreprocessors 124, one or more memories 126, an AC current driver 127 forproviding AC current signals to the antenna assembly 145, a networkinterface controller 128, and one or more input devices 129. Theparticular configuration of the computing device 120 illustrated in FIG.1 is provided as an example, but other configurations of the componentsshown in FIG. 1 as being included in the computing device 120 are alsocontemplated. In particular, in some embodiments, one or more of thecomponents (122, 124, 126, 127, 128, and/or 129) shown in FIG. 1 asbeing included in the computing device 120 may instead be separate fromthe computing device 120 and may be coupled to the computing device 120and/or to any other component(s) of the system 100 by way of one or morerespective wired or wireless path(s) to facilitate the transmission ofpower and/or data signals throughout the system 100. For example,although not shown in FIG. 1, the AC current driver 127 may, in someexample aspects, be separate from the computing device 120 and may becoupled to the antenna assembly 145 and/or coupled to one or morecomponents of the computing device 120, such as the processor 124 andthe memory 126, by way of one or more corresponding paths.

In some aspects, the EMN system 100 may also include multiple computingdevices 120, wherein the multiple computing devices 120 are employed forplanning, treatment, visualization, or helping clinicians in a mannersuitable for medical operations. The display 122 may be touch-sensitiveand/or voice-activated, enabling the display 122 to serve as both aninput device and an output device. The display 122 may displaytwo-dimensional (2D) images or three-dimensional (3D) images, such as a3D model of a lung, to enable a practitioner to locate and identify aportion of the lung that displays symptoms of lung diseases.

The one or more memories 126 store one or more programs and/orcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors 124, cause the one or more processors 124 to perform variousfunctions and/or procedures. For example, the processors 124 maycalculate a location and/or an orientation of the EM sensor 112 based onthe electromagnetic signal that is radiated by the antenna assembly 145and received by the EM sensor 112. The processors 124 may also performimage-processing functions to cause the 3D model of the lung to bedisplayed on the display 122. The processors 124 may also generate oneor more electromagnetic signals to be radiated by way of the antennaassembly 145. In some embodiments, the computing device 120 may furtherinclude a separate graphic accelerator (not shown in FIG. 1) thatperforms only the image-processing functions so that the one or moreprocessors 124 may be available for other programs. The one or morememories 126 also store data, such as mapping data for EMN, image data,patients' medical record data, prescription data, and/or data regardinga history of the patient's diseases, and/or other types of data.

The mapping data may link multiple grid points, in a coordinate systemof an EM volume in which a medical device (e.g., the EWC 111, the LG,treatment probe, or another surgical device) navigates, to the EM signalcharacteristics (for example, signal strength) that correspond to thegrid points, respectively. In this manner, when the EM sensor 112 sensesan EM signal having certain characteristics at a particular grid point,the one or more processors 124 may compare the sensed EM signalcharacteristics to the EM signal characteristics in the mapping data anddetermine the location and/or orientation of the EM sensor 112 withinthe EM volume based on a result of the comparison.

As shown in FIG. 1, the platform 140 is configured to provide a flatsurface upon which the patient 150 lies during the EMN navigationprocedure. The antenna assembly 145, which may also be referred to as anEM field generating device, is arranged upon the platform 140 or isincluded as a component of the platform 140. The antenna assembly 145includes one or more antennas, such as planar loop antennas (not shownin FIG. 1). Example aspects of the antenna assembly 145 are described infurther detail below.

With the patient 150 lying upon the platform 140, the one or moreprocessors 124 (or another signal generator not shown in FIG. 1)generate and provide to the antenna(s) of the antenna assembly 145 byway of the AC current driver 127 one or more AC current signals that theantenna(s) convert into one or more respective EM signal(s) and radiatein a manner sufficient to surround a portion of the patient 150. In someaspects, the antenna assembly 145 includes a connector that has at leasttwo terminals, and the trace of the antenna (not shown in FIG. 1) hastwo ends that are coupled to the two connector terminals, respectively,to form a signal communication path from the one or more processors 145to the antenna.

Having described an example EMN system 100, reference will now be madeto FIG. 2, which is a graphical illustration of an example antennaassembly layout 200 of the antenna assembly 145 of the EMN system 100,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The antennaassembly layout 200 includes a substrate 210, such as a printed circuitboard (PCB), which is formed of an electrically insulating material andmay include one or more layers. The antenna assembly layout 200 alsoincludes multiple planar antennas 220, which are formed of anelectrically conductive material, such as a PCB trace, deposited on thesubstrate 210 and arranged in multiple loops or as a coil. In oneexample, each of the planar antennas 220 is deposited on a respectiveone of the layers of the substrate 210. In the example antenna assemblylayout 200 of FIG. 2, multiple layers of the substrate 210 are shownsimultaneously.

Each of the multiple antennas may be configured to radiate a separate EMfield, for example, using frequency division multiplexing and/or timedivision multiplexing controlled by the processors 124 or by anothergenerator. For example, the antennas, in some aspects, may be configuredto radiate multiple EM fields sufficient in number and/or sufficient indiversity of characteristics (such as frequency, time, modulationscheme, and/or the like) to enable a single-coil electromagnetic sensormounted on the EWC 111, or on any other medical device, to be used todetermine the location and/or the orientation of the sensor, the EWC111, and/or the medical device. The antenna assembly 145 may, forinstance, include six to nine or more loop antennas. In someembodiments, for each of the loop antennas, the distances between itsadjacent loops increase as the loops become larger. For example, foreach of the planar antennas, respective distances between adjacent pairsof loops may increase in a direction from an innermost one of the loopsto an outermost one of the loops of the respective planar antenna. Invarious embodiments, two or more of the loop antennas of the antennaassembly 145 may have a same number of loops, or may have respectivelydifferent numbers of loops.

Having described an example antenna assembly layout 200 of an antennaassembly 145 of the EMN system 100, reference will now be made to FIG.3, which is a flowchart illustrating an example procedure 300 fordesigning an antenna assembly such as the antenna assembly 145, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In variousembodiments, the procedure 300 may be fully computer-implemented orpartially computer-implemented. Reference will also be made to FIGS. 4through 13, which are graphical illustrations of certain steps of theprocedure 300, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The example method 300 of FIG. 3 may be implemented todesign an antenna assembly that includes one antenna or an antennaassembly that includes multiple antennas. For illustrative purposes, thepresent description of the method 300 will be made in the context ofdesigning an antenna assembly that includes multiple antennas. However,although certain aspects of the method 300 will be described only withrespect to the design of a single one of the multiple antennas, thoseaspects of the method 300 apply similarly to the other ones of themultiple antennas.

Before describing the details of the procedure 300, an overview of theprocedure 300 will be provided. In general, according to the procedure300, the design of the antenna assembly is based on a set of designparameters and/or constraints including a number of antennas M of theantenna assembly to be designed, as well as, for each antenna of theantenna assembly, a seed shape for the antenna, a location of a centroidof the seed shape on the substrate upon which the antenna will bemanufactured, a number of loops (N) of the antenna, a minimum tracecenter-to-center spacing (TCCM) for the antenna, and dimensions of anedge or a boundary of the substrate. Locations of antenna vertices ofthe antenna are determined based on the seed shape. The antenna designthen proceeds by interconnecting the antenna vertices by way of straightlinear portions, beginning with the innermost antenna vertices andprogressing to the outermost antenna vertices, so that the entireantenna forms a coil including a single trace arranged in multipleloops. In an aspect, each loop of the antenna assembly grows from theseed shape toward the boundaries of the substrate and effectively coversmost of the available surface area of the substrate layer outside of theseed shape. The two ends of the trace are routed to a connector locationto enable the antenna to be coupled to a signal generator.

For antenna assemblies having multiple planar antennas on respectivelayers of the multiple layer substrate, this general procedure isrepeated for each of the antennas. Additionally, data corresponding tothe designed antenna layouts can be exported to an electromagnetic fieldsimulation tool for simulating the electromagnetic field (for example,the theoretical electromagnetic field mapping for EMN described above)that the respective antennas would generate based on their particularcharacteristics. The data corresponding to the designed antenna layoutscan also be exported to a PCB manufacturing tool to enable the antennaassembly to be manufactured in an automated manner, in accordance withthe designed antenna layouts.

Before describing the details of the procedure 300, reference will bemade to FIG. 4 to describe example seed shapes and theircharacteristics. In particular, FIG. 4 shows examples of nine seedrectangles 401 through 409 of an antenna assembly to be designedaccording to the procedure 300. Each of the seed rectangles 401 through409 includes four vertices within the edge 400 of the substrate. Thenumber of seed rectangles, and hence the number of antennas M, shown inthe example of FIG. 4 is nine, however, this is for illustrativepurposes only and should not be construed as limiting. In otherembodiments, the number of seed shapes, and hence the number of antennasM, may be, for example, six, nine, or more. As an example, the square400 may represent the edge of the substrate, and a boundary (not shownin FIG. 4) that represents the area of the substrate that is availablefor placement of the antennas may be formed from a square within the x-zplane that is contained within the edge 400 of the substrate and smallerthan the edge 400 of the substrate by some predetermined threshold orbuffer amount.

In another example, an antenna assembly herein includes on a singlesubstrate (for example, on respective layers of a multiple-layersubstrate) multiple planar antennas having characteristics, such asgeometries and/or relative locations that are diverse from one another,that enable multiple (for example, six) degrees of freedom of a smallelectromagnetic sensor, such as a single-coil sensor, to be determined.For instance, as shown in FIG. 4, the nine seed rectangles 401-409 maybe grouped in three, with seed rectangles 401-403 being in a firstgroup; seed rectangles 404-406 being in a second group; and seedrectangles 407-409 being in a third group. As shown in FIG. 4, the threeseed rectangles in each group have specific geographical relationshipswith respect to one another. For instance, one seed rectangle is asquare (or substantially square-like), and the other two seed rectanglesare non-square rectangles and are located near two sides of the square.For example, the seed rectangle 401 is a square, the seed rectangle 402is located in line with the length of the seed rectangle 401, and theseed rectangle 403 is located in line with the width of the seedrectangle 401. Further, the length of the seed rectangle 402 is longerthan the width of the square 401, and is similar to the length of theseed rectangle 401, while the width of the seed rectangle 402 is smallerthan the width of the square 401; and the width of the seed rectangle403 is longer than the length of the square 401 and is similar to thewidth of the square 401, while the length of the seed rectangle 402 issmaller than the length of the square 401. The seed rectangles 404-406of the second group and the seed rectangles 407-409 of the third groupsalso have the similar geometric features as the seed rectangles 401-403of the first group.

Put differently, for each of multiple groups of planar antennas that maybe generated based on the seed rectangles 401-409: an innermost loop ofthe first planar antenna (for example, corresponding to the seedrectangle 401) has a first linear portion (for example, first linearportion 410) and a second linear portion (for example, second linearportion 411) approximately perpendicular to the first linear portion(for example, first linear portion 410); an innermost loop of the secondplanar antenna (for example, corresponding to the seed rectangle 402)has a first linear portion (for example, first linear portion 412) and asecond linear portion (for example, second linear portion 413)approximately perpendicular to, and longer than, the first linearportion (for example, first linear portion 412); an innermost loop ofthe third planar antenna (for example, corresponding to the seedrectangle 403) has a first linear portion (for example, first linearportion 414) and a second linear portion (for example, second linearportion 415) approximately perpendicular to, and longer than, the firstlinear portion (for example first linear portion 414); the first linearportion (for example, first linear portion 412) of the seed rectangle ofthe innermost loop of the second planar antenna is approximatelyparallel to the first linear portion (for example, first linear portion410) of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna; and the firstlinear portion (for example, first linear portion 414) of the innermostloop of the third planar antenna is approximately parallel to the secondlinear portion (for example, second linear portion 411) of the innermostloop of the first planar antenna. Although additional reference numbersfor the first and second linear portions of the seed rectangles 404-409(and hence the correspondence planar antennas) are omitted from FIG. 4for clarity, the seed rectangles 404-406 of the second group and theseed rectangles 407-409 of the third groups each have similar geometricrelationships with respect to one another, as those described above inthe context of the seed rectangles 401-403 of the first group.

In an aspect, these three groups may be geometrically dispersed fromeach group within the substrate 210. Dispersion may be accomplished bygeometric relationship and/or angular relationship. For example, therespective innermost loops of the planar antennas of each group can bepositioned, on the respective layers of the multiple-layer substrate, atrespective angles that are distinct from one another. Additionally, theplanar antennas, and/or the seed rectangles upon which the planarantennas are based, may have respective centroids (for examplerepresented by circular dots in FIG. 4), relative to a plane of thesubstrate, that are mutually distinct from one another. Further, theouter boundaries of the first group include all seed rectangles 404-409of the second and third groups. Also, the seed rectangles 404-409 of thesecond and third groups are geometrically dispersed within the outerboundaries of the first group.

Further, each group has an angular relationship with respect to the twoaxes (i.e., the x axis and the z axis). For example, the seed rectangle401 of the first group is congruent with the two axes, while the seedrectangles 404 and 407 of the second and third groups are angled withrespect to the two axes with different angles, respectively. In otherwords, the smallest angle between the seed rectangle 401 or the squareof the first group and the x axis is zero; the smallest angle betweenthe seed rectangle 404 and the x axis is greater than zero but less thanthe smallest angle between the seed rectangle 407 of the third group andthe x axis. However, the relationship among three groups is not limitedto the geometric and angular relationships but can be expanded in anyreadily conceivable way for a person having ordinary skill in the artwithin the scope of this disclosure.

Four vertices of each of the seed rectangles 401-409 may be provided ina coordinate form (x, z) in the x-z plane. In an aspect, a centroid ofeach of the seed rectangles 401-409 may also be provided in coordinateform or can be calculated from the four vertices. Dispersion may also beachieved by dispersing the centroids within the substrate 210. In anaspect, centroids of all seed rectangles 401-409 are disposed on thesubstrate in positions that are distinct from each other.

Referring now to FIG. 3, prior to block 301, a set of design parametersand/or constraints for the first antenna of the antenna assembly to bedesigned (for example, a seed shape for the antenna, a location of acentroid of the seed shape on a substrate upon which the antenna will bemanufactured, a number of loops (N) of the antenna, a minimum tracecenter-to-center spacing (TCCM) for the antenna, and dimensions of anedge or a boundary of the substrate) are set (not shown in FIG. 3). Forillustrative purposes, the seed shapes utilized in the procedure 300 foreach antenna are seed rectangles; however, this should not be construedas limiting. Other seed shapes (for example, a seed triangle, a seedpentagon, a seed hexagon, any convex polygon, convex curved shape (e.g.,an ellipse, an egg, a circle, etc.), or any other suitable seed shape)are contemplated and can be employed in the procedure 300. In someembodiments, any combination of different seed shapes can be used forthe antennas of the antenna assembly, respectively. Each seed shape hasmultiple vertices. More specifically, each seed rectangle has fourvertices.

At block 301, an antenna index i_(antenna) is initialized. For example,i_(antenna) is set equal to 1 to correspond to the first antenna of themultiple (M, where M>1) antennas of the antenna assembly to be designed.As described below, the purpose of the antenna index i_(antenna) is toenable the procedure 300 to be repeated, in the case of antennaassemblies including multiple antennas, for each antenna of the Mantennas of the antenna assembly. For instance, in some examples, thesubstrate has multiple layers (for example, as in a multi-layer PCB) andthe method 300 is employed to generate multiple planar antenna layoutscorresponding to the antennas to be deposited on corresponding ones ofthe multiple layers of the substrate.

At block 302, multiple diagonal lines are computed, relative to acoordinate system of the substrate, based on the seed rectangle. Ingeneral, the number of diagonal lines computed at block 302 equals thenumber of vertices of the seed shape. In particular, in the case of theseed rectangle, which has four vertices, four diagonal lines arecomputed that bisect the four vertices of the seed rectangle,respectively, and extend from the four vertices of the seed rectangle,respectively, to the boundary of the substrate. The boundary of thesubstrate may be a physical boundary of the substrate, such as an edgeof a PCB, or may be a theoretically imposed boundary, such as a boundaryoffset from the edge of the PCB by a predetermined buffer distance.

In one example, as part of the computing of the multiple diagonal linesperformed at block 302, origins for the diagonal lines of each of vertexof the seed rectangle are first calculated, and then vertices of theinnermost loop of the antenna (also referred to as seed vertices) aredetermined based on the seed rectangle. For example, FIG. 5 showsorigins 511 and 512 that are calculated for the seed rectangle 405 ofFIG. 4. The origins 511 and 512 are bounded by the four vertices 501through 504 of the seed rectangle 405. In an aspect, one origin maycorrespond to a single vertex of the seed rectangle, or one origin maycorrespond to two adjacent vertices. In another aspect, the origins 511and 512 may be located on the diagonals of the seed rectangle or on thediagonals which bisect the corresponding angle to form two 45 degreeangles. In this case, diagonals define the locations of vertices of theloop antenna. As an example, the origin 511 is located on a diagonal,which bisects the 90 degree angle at the vertex 501 to form two 45degree angles. Also as shown in FIG. 5, the origin 511 is located on theintersection of the diagonals which bisect the angles at vertices 501and 502. In the same way, the origin 512 is located at the intersectionof the diagonals which bisect the angles at vertices 503 and 504. In oneexample, the origins for the diagonal lines of each vertex of the seedrectangle can be calculated by performing principal component analysis(PCA) over the coordinates of the four vertices 501-504, utilizingsingular value decomposition. The following notations are used herein:

-   -   P_(jk) represents the k-th vertex of the j-th loop, where j is 1        to N and k is 1 to 4;    -   P_(jkx) and P_(jkz) represent x-coordinate and z-coordinate of        the vertex P_(jk), respectively;    -   {P_(j1), P_(j2), P_(j3), P_(j4)} or simply {P_(jk)} is a 4 by 2        matrix having four vertices P_(j1), P_(j2), P_(j3), P_(j4) of        the j-th loop as its rows;    -   U represents a 4 by 4 matrix having orthonormal eigenvectors of        {P_(jk)}{P_(jk)}^(T) as its column;    -   V represents a 2 by 2 matrix having orthonormal eigenvectors of        {P_(jk)}^(T){P_(jk)} as its column; and    -   S represents a 4 by 2 matrix, whose nonzero elements are located        only at its diagonal and are square root of eigenvalues of        {P_(jk)}{P_(jk)}^(T) or {P_(jk)}^(T){P_(jk)}; and    -   {tilde over (S)} represents a 4 by 2 matrix, whose nonzero        elements are located only at its diagonal and are equal to the        smallest nonzero element of S.

Given the four vertices R_(k), (R_(kx), R_(kz)), of the i-th seedrectangle, a centroid C, (C_(x), C_(z)), of the i-th seed rectangle iscalculated as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{\left( {C_{x},C_{z}} \right) = {\left( {\frac{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{4}\; R_{kx}}{4},\frac{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{4}\; R_{kz}}{4}} \right).}} & (1)\end{matrix}$By performing singular value decomposition on the centroid-subtractedfour vertices R_(j), S, V, and D matrices are obtained as follows:USV ^(T) ={R _(k) −C}  (2),where {R_(k)−C} is a 4 by 2 matrix, each row of {R_(k)−C} is thecentroid-subtracted vertex (R_(kx)−C_(x), R_(kz)−C_(z)), and k is 1 to4.

S is a 4 by 2 matrix having nonzero elements only in the diagonal, i.e.,S₁₁ and S₂₂. Based on the singular value decomposition, S₁₁ is greaterthan or equal to S₂₂. By replacing the value of S₁₁ with the value ofS₂₂, we can get a new 4 by 2 diagonal matrix {tilde over (S)}, where{tilde over (S)}₁₁ and {tilde over (S)}₂₂, are equal to S₂₂. Then, theorigins O_(k) for each vertex can be obtained by the following:{O _(k) }={R _(k) }−U{tilde over (S)}V ^(T)  (3).Because the diagonal entries of {tilde over (S)} are the minimum valuesof the diagonal entries of S, {O_(k)} includes only two different rows,corresponding to the origins 511 and 512, within the i-th seedrectangle, as shown in FIG. 5.

After obtaining the origins 511 and 512, a first set of four seedvertices P_(1k) within the i-th seed rectangle are determined. Thesefirst four seed vertices P_(1k) are the seed vertices for the innermostloop of the respective antenna and can be used to determine the othervertices of that antenna.

Given the minimum trace center-to-center (TCCM) spacing, whichrepresents a predetermined minimum distance between traces or loops of aparticular antenna or of all the antennas of a particular antennaassembly, the first seed vertex P₁₁ is determined by moving R₁ into itscorresponding diagonal, which bisects the 90 degree angle at R₁, towardthe inside of the i-th seed rectangle. This can be done by firstdefining two vectors from R₁ as follows:{right arrow over (V _(R) ₁₄ )}={right arrow over (R ₄)}−{right arrowover (R ₁)}  (4),{right arrow over (V _(R) ₁₂ )}={right arrow over (R ₂)}−{right arrowover (R ₁)}  (5),where {right arrow over (R_(k))} is a vector pointing toward R_(k) fromthe respective origin O_(k), {right arrow over (V_(R) ₁₄ )} is a vectorpointing toward R₄ from R₁, and {right arrow over (V_(R) ₁₂ )} is avector pointing toward R₂ from R₁. By adding the unit vector of

$\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{R_{14}}},\frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{R_{14}}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{R_{14}}}},$to the unit vector of

$\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{R_{12}}},\frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{R_{12}}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{R_{12}}}},$a vector having a direction in line with the respective diagonal line,which bisects the 90 degree angle at R₁ to form two 45 degree angles, isobtained, where the symbol “∥ ∥” represents a magnitude of the vectorinside of the symbol “∥ ∥”. Then, the first seed vertex P₁₁ is obtainedby the following equation:

$\begin{matrix}{{\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{11}} = {\overset{\rightarrow}{R_{1}} + {T\; C\; C\; M \times \left( {\frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{R_{14}}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{R_{14}}}} + \frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{R_{12}}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{R_{12}}}}} \right)}}},} & (6)\end{matrix}$where {right arrow over (P₁₁)} is a vector originating from therespective origin O₁ and thus represents a coordinate of P₁₁. FIG. 6illustrates the other three seed vertices P₁₂, P₁₃, and P₁₄ of theantenna, which match R₂, R₃, and R₄. The smallest distance betweenP_(1k) and the four sides of the i-th seed rectangle equals TCCM. FIG. 7shows vectors Diag₁, Diag₂, Diag₃, and Diag₄, which may form respectiveportions of the diagonal lines that bisect the seed vertices P₁₁, P₁₂,P₁₃, and P₁₄ and extend from the respective seed vertices P₁₁, P₁₂, P₁₃,and P₁₄ to the boundary of the substrate.

Referring back to FIG. 3, at block 303 a diagonal line indexi_(diagonal) is initialized. For example, i_(diagonal) is set equal to 1to correspond to the first diagonal line of the four diagonal lines ofthe seed rectangle. As described below, the purpose of the diagonal lineindex i_(diagonal) is to enable aspects of the procedure to be repeatedfor each of the diagonal lines of the seed rectangle.

At block 304, for the respective diagonal line, a vertex-layout-distance(also referred to herein as a layout distance) V_(layout_k) between therespective vertex of the seed rectangle and the boundary of thesubstrate, along the respective diagonal line is computed. The layoutdistance may represent, or may be related to, the maximum usabledistance between the respective vertex of the seed rectangle and theboundary of the substrate.

In some example embodiments, as part of the computing of the layoutdistance at block 304, respective intersecting points T_(k) between theorigins O_(k) and the boundary of the substrate, when the respectivediagonals {right arrow over (Diag_(k))} are projected from the originsO_(k), are calculated and identified, as shown, for example, in FIG. 9.The intersecting points T_(k) can be found using multiple conventionalapproaches. When the intersecting points T_(k) are found, the followingrelationship is satisfied:

$\begin{matrix}{{\frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{O_{k}T_{k}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{O_{k}T_{k}}} = \frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{{Diag}_{k}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{{Diag}_{k}}}},} & (14)\end{matrix}$where {right arrow over (O_(k)T_(k))} is a vector from the origin O_(k)to the intersecting point T_(k). In other words, vector {right arrowover (O_(k)T_(k))} has the same direction as the diagonal vector {rightarrow over (Diag_(k))}.

With the four vertices P₁₁, P₁₂, P₁₃, and P₁₄ of the first loop and theintersecting points T₁, T₂, T₃, and T₄ identified, thevertex-layout-distance, V_(layout_k), can be calculated from thefollowing equation:

$\begin{matrix}{V_{{layout}\_ k} = {{\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{1\; k}T_{k}}} - {\frac{V\; V\; M}{2}.}}} & (15)\end{matrix}$The subtracting term,

$\frac{VVM}{2},$ensures that the last vertex P_(Nk) of the N-th loop is distant from theintersecting point T_(k). In other words, only a V_(layout_k)-longlinear portion starting from P_(1k) is used to distribute (N−1) verticesbetween P_(1k) and T_(k).

After the intersecting points T_(k) are identified, every vertex for theloop antenna can be determined. As one of the initial conditions is thatthe number of loops of the loop antenna is N and the four vertices P₁₁,P₁₂, P₁₃, and P₁₄ of the first loop are determined in step 330, fourvertices of each of the second, third, . . . , and N-th loops arerecursively determined. In particular, at block 305, for the respectivediagonal line, respective distances between adjacent pairs of planarantenna vertices to be positioned along the respective diagonal line aredetermined based at least in part on the layout distance computed atblock 304. For example, the respective distances between adjacent pairsof planar antenna vertices to be positioned along the respectivediagonal line may be determined so as to fit the predetermined number ofloops N of the antenna while maximizing the use of the available lineardistance from the vertex of the seed rectangle to the boundary of thesubstrate. In this manner, the available area of the substrate may beefficiently utilized. Additionally, in some example aspects, anoutermost planar antenna vertex of the planar antenna vertices of therespective planar antenna is distanced from the boundary of thesubstrate by not more than a predetermined threshold, for efficientutilization of the available substrate area.

In some examples, the respective distances are determined at block 305based at least in part on the predetermined number N of loops of theplanar antenna, a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacentvertices, a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacent traces,and/or any combination of one or more of those factors or other factors.In particular, in one example, vertices are grouped in four groups witheach group forming a rectangular shape, and vertices in the same groupare described as corresponding vertices. For example, the first groupincludes P₁₁, P₂₁, . . . , and P_(N1), the second group includes P₁₂,P₂₂, . . . , and P_(N2), the third group includes P₁₃, P₂₃, . . . , andP_(N3), and the fourth group includes P₁₄, P₂₄, . . . , and P_(N4).Thus, P_(3k) and P_(Nk) are in the same k-th group and are correspondingvertices, while P₃₃ and P₄₂ are not in the same group and cannot becorresponding vertices. For each group, the distance between P_(jk) andP_((j+1)k) is set to be greater than the distance between P_((j+1)k) andP_(jk), where j is 2 to N−1 and k is 1 to 4. In other words, thedistance between two adjacent corresponding vertices is increasingtoward the boundary of the substrate. Put differently, in one example,as illustrated in FIG. 10, the distances between the adjacent pairs ofantenna vertices become progressively larger in a direction from aninnermost one of the vertices to an outermost one of the vertices. Theprogressively increasing distance in a direction from the respectivevertex of the seed rectangle to the boundary may be implemented byvarious methods, such as arithmetic progression, geometric progression,exponential progression, and/or the like.

For example, arithmetic progression may be employed to distributeremaining vertices in each group. Letting d_(jk) be the distance betweenP_(jk) and P_((j+1)k) in the k-th group and be expressed in recursiveform as:∥{right arrow over (P _(jk) P _((j+1)k))}∥=d _(jk)  (16),d _(jk)=slope_(k)×(j−1)+d _(1k)  (17)andd _(1k) =VVM  (18),where ∥{right arrow over (P_(jk)P_((j+1)k))}∥ represents a distancebetween vertices P_(jk) and P_((j+1)k), slope_(k) is a constant for thek-th group, which is the common difference between two distances d_(jk)and d_((j+1)k), and j is 1 to (N−2). Thus, each vertex in the k-th groupis positioned on the linear portion connecting T_(k) and P_(1k) and thetotal length between P_(Nk) and P_(1k) is less than or equal to thevertex-layout-distance, V_(layout_k). In order to make an additionalkeepout area of half the minimum trace center to center (TCCM) spacingbetween the T_(k) and P_(Nk), the following equation may be satisfied:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{N - 1}\;{{P_{jk}P_{{({j + 1})}k}}}} = {V_{{layout}\_ k} - \frac{T\; C\; C\; M}{2}}},\mspace{14mu}{or}} & (19) \\{{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{N - 1}d_{jk}} = {{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{N - 1}\left( {{{slope}_{k} \times \left( {j - 1} \right)} + d_{1\; k}} \right)} = {V_{{layout}\_ k} - {\frac{T\; C\; C\; M}{2}.}}}} & (20)\end{matrix}$When equation (20) is solved for the constant, slope_(k), the followingequation can be obtained:

$\begin{matrix}{{slope}_{k} = {\frac{2 \cdot \left( {V_{{layout}\_ k} - {\left( {N - 1} \right)d_{1\; k}} - \frac{T\; C\; C\; M}{2}} \right)}{\left( {N - 1} \right)\left( {N - 2} \right)}.}} & (21)\end{matrix}$When the equation (20) is combined with equations (16) and (17), thefollowing equation is obtained:

$\begin{matrix}{{\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{jk}P_{{({j + 1})}k}}} = {{\frac{2 \cdot \left( {V_{{layout}\_ k} - {\left( {N - 1} \right)d_{1\; k}} - \frac{T\; C\; C\; M}{2}} \right)}{\left( {N - 1} \right)\left( {N - 2} \right)}\left( {j - 1} \right)} + {d_{1\; k}.}}} & (22)\end{matrix}$In this way, the distance between two adjacent corresponding verticesP_(jk) and P_((j+1)k) increases as j increases. This progressive patternbetween corresponding vertices is shown in FIG. 10 more clearly in thefirst and the fourth groups than in the second and the third groups.

At block 306, the planar antenna vertices are positioned along therespective diagonal line based on the respective distances betweenadjacent pairs of planar antenna vertices determined at block 305.

At block 307, the diagonal line index i_(diagonal) is compared to thenumber of diagonal lines, namely four, of the seed rectangle todetermine whether the procedures of block 305 and block 306 are to berepeated for additional diagonal lines of the respective antenna. If itis determined at block 307 that i_(diagonal) is less than the number ofdiagonal lines, then at block 308 i_(diagonal) is incremented by one tocorrespond to the next diagonal line (for example, the second diagonalline) of the four diagonal lines of the seed rectangle. Then theprocedures of block 305 and block 306 are repeated for that nextdiagonal line in the manner described above.

If, on the other hand, it is determined at block 307 that i_(diagonal)is equal to the number of diagonal lines, indicating that the proceduresof block 305 and block 306 have been executed for each of the fourdiagonal lines of the seed rectangle, then at block 309, a minimumvertex to vertex distance (VVM) is calculated to make sure that, whenvertices are connected by linear portions or segments of a line, thesmallest distance between two adjacent corresponding linear portions isgreater than TCCM, where the phrase “two adjacent corresponding linearportions” being used to refer to linear portions that are positioned indifferent loops but are located closer to one another than any otherlinear portions. This is done by defining diagonal vectors {right arrowover (Diag_(k))}, setting up temporary vertices P′₂₁ and P′₂₂, measuringa distance between a linear portion connecting the temporary verticesP′₂₁ and P′₂₂ and a linear portion connecting P₁₁ and P₁₂, and adjustinga value of VVM until the smallest distance is greater than TCCM. Detailsof this step are further described below.

The diagonal vectors {right arrow over (Diag_(k))} are defined asfollows:{right arrow over (Diag_(k))}={right arrow over (P _(1k))}−{right arrowover (O _(k))}  (7),where k is 1 to 4. When these diagonal vectors {right arrow over(Diag_(k))} are arranged at the origin (0, 0), they form a crossindicating that they form four 90 degree angles as shown in the middleof FIG. 7.

A temporary distance D_(p2to5) is initialized as the value of TCCM.Vectors {right arrow over (V_(P) ₃₂ )}, {right arrow over(P′_(22 temp))}, and {right arrow over (V_(P) ₂₂ _(temp))} are definedby the following:

$\begin{matrix}{{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{P_{32}}} = {\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{12}} - \overset{\rightarrow}{P_{13}}}},} & (8) \\{{\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{22\;{temp}}^{\prime}} = {\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{12}} + {D_{p\; 2\;{{to}5}} \times \frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{P_{32}}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{P_{32}}}}}}},\mspace{14mu}{and}} & (9) \\{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{P_{22}{temp}}} = {\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{22\;{temp}}^{\prime}} - {\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{12}}.}}} & (10)\end{matrix}$Temporary vertex P′₂₂ is defined in a vector form as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{22\;}^{\prime}} = {\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{12}} + {\frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{{Diag}_{2}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{{Diag}_{2}}} \times \frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{{V_{P_{22}{temp}}}^{2}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{V_{P_{22}{temp}}} \cdot \frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{{Diag}_{2}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{{Diag}_{2}}}}}}},} & (11)\end{matrix}$where the symbol “⋅” is a dot product between two vectors. In short,temporary vertex P′₂₂ is distant from P₁₂ by √{square root over(2)}×TCCM in a direction of the diagonal {right arrow over (Diag₂)}toward outside of the i-th seed rectangle. Next, VVM is temporarilyinitialized with the following equation:VVM=∥{right arrow over (P′ ₂₂)}−{right arrow over (P ₁₂)}∥  (12).Temporary vertex P′₂₁ is defined in a vector form as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{21\;}^{\prime}} = {\overset{\rightarrow}{P_{11}} + {V\; V\; M \times {\frac{\overset{\rightarrow}{{Diag}_{1}}}{\overset{\rightarrow}{{Diag}_{1}}}.}}}} & (13)\end{matrix}$As with P′₂₂, temporary vertex P′₂₁ is distant from P₁₁ by √{square rootover (2)}×TCCM in a direction of the diagonal {right arrow over (Diag₁)}toward outside of the i-th seed rectangle.

As shown in FIG. 8, distances between the linear portion connectingtemporary vertices P′₂₁ and P′₂₂ and the linear portion between P₁₁ andP₁₂ are calculated. Since the linear portion connecting temporaryvertices P′₂₁ and P′₂₂ and the linear portion between P₁₁ and P₁₂ maynot be parallel, there are multiple distances between the two linearportions. At block 309, a determination is made as to whether thesmallest distance D among the multiple distances between the two linearportions is less than or equal to TCCM. If it is determined at block 309that the smallest distance D among the multiple distances is less thanor equal to TCCM, then at block 311 the temporary distance D_(p2to5) isincreased by a predetermined amount and the above procedures of blocks302 through 309 are repeated, including by using the equations (9)-(13)until the smallest distance D is greater than TCCM. The final result ofVVM is set as the value for the vertex-to-vertex minimum.

If, on the other hand, it is determined at block 309 that the smallestdistance D among the multiple distances is greater than TCCM, then atblock 312 a planar antenna layout is generated by interconnecting theplanar antenna vertices by way of respective straight linear portions toform multiple loops (e.g., N loops) that sequentially traverse each ofthe plurality of diagonal lines of the respective planar antenna. Eachof the loops includes multiple straight linear portions and multipleplanar antenna vertices, namely four straight linear portions and fourplanar antenna vertices, in a case where the seed shape is a seedrectangle. For example, the first loop of each loop antenna, such as theloop antenna shown in FIG. 11, includes four vertices (i.e., P₁₁, P₁₂,P₁₃, and P₁₄) and four linear portions (i.e., L₁₁ connecting between P₁₁and P₁₂, L₁₂ connecting P₁₂ and P₁₃, L₁₃ connecting P₁₃ and P₁₄, and L₁₄connecting P₁₄ and P₂₁); . . . the (N−1)-th loop includes four vertices(i.e., P_((N-1)1), P_((N-1)2), P_((N-1)3), and P_((N-1)4)) and fourlinear portions (i.e., L_((N-1)1) connecting between P_((N-1)1) andP_((N-1)2), L_((N-1)2) connecting P_((N-1)2) and P_((N-1)3), L_((N-1)3)connecting P_((N-1)3) and P_((N-1)4), and L_((N-1)4) connectingP_((N-1)4) and P_(N1)) (for clarity, not labeled in FIG. 11); and theN-th loop includes four vertices (i.e., P_(N1), P_(N2), P_(N3), andP_(N4)) and three linear portions (i.e., L_(N1) connecting P_(N1) andP_(N2), L_(N2) connecting P_(N2) and P_(N3), and L_(N3) connectingP_(N3) and P_(N4)). FIG. 11 shows a design for a loop antenna thatincludes a plurality of loops, which is designed according to theprocedure 300.

At block 313, multiple additional straight linear portions are routedfrom at least two of the planar antenna vertices (in particular, fromthe two terminal antenna vertices located at the two ends, respectively,of the linear planar antenna layout) to one or more connector locationswith respect to the coordinate system of the substrate. The multipleadditional straight linear portions are added to the planar antennalayout. In embodiments where the procedure 300 is employed to design anantenna assembly that includes multiple planar antennas to be arrangedon respective layers of a multiple-layer substrate, the planar antennalayouts may be routed to a single connector location, or to separateconnector locations corresponding to each antenna, respectively, or toany combination of connectors.

At block 314, the antenna index i_(antenna) is compared to the number ofantennas M of the antenna assembly to determine whether the proceduresof block 302 through block 313 are to be repeated for additionalantennas of the antenna assembly. If it is determined at block 314 thati_(antenna) is less than the number of antennas M, then at block 315i_(antenna) is incremented by one to correspond to the next antenna (forexample, the second antenna) of the M antennas of the antenna assembly.Then the procedures of block 302 through block 313 are repeated for thatnext antenna in the manner described above. FIG. 12 shows designs forsix loop antennas, which can be designed in accordance with theprocedure 300.

If, on the other hand, it is determined at block 314 that i_(antenna) isequal to the number of antennas M, indicating that the procedures ofblock 302 through block 313 have been executed for each of the Mantennas of the antenna assembly, then at block 316, which may beoptional in some embodiments, data corresponding to the generated planarantenna layout is exported to a circuit board routing tool, a circuitboard manufacturing tool, and/or an electromagnetic simulation tool.

In one example, by exporting the data corresponding to the generatedplanar antenna layout to the electromagnetic simulation tool at block316, one or more electromagnetic fields that may be generated by theantennas of the antenna assembly may be simulated based on the exporteddata and on the superposition of multiple electromagnetic fieldcomponents from each of the multiple straight linear portions of theplanar antenna layout, respectively. For instance, each loop based onthe seed shape can be expressed with a definite mathematical equation,such as a Cartesian equation or a parametric equation, such that thestrength of an EM field generated by each loop can be calculated by theBiot-Savart-Laplace law at any point in space based on the mathematicalequation. In other words, by virtue of geometrical and other aspects ofthe antenna assembly (such as the use of straight linear portions as theinterconnections in the antennas of the antenna assembly), the need togenerate and employ a detailed electromagnetic field mapping can beavoided by instead enabling an electromagnetic field mapping to betheoretically computed based on the characteristics of the antennaassembly. The computed electromagnetic field mapping can then beemployed either alone or in conjunction with a more easily generatedlow-density electromagnetic field mapping obtained from measurements. Inother words, the antenna assembly designed according to the procedure300 can serve as the basis upon which to generate an accuratehigh-density theoretical electromagnetic field mapping for EMN, withouthaving to use expensive measuring equipment and without having toperform time-consuming and laborious measurements.

As is apparent from the description herein, according to the procedure300, an antenna assembly can be efficiently and designed in a repeatablemanner based on a few design parameters and/or constraints, such as aseed shape, a number of loops, a TCCM, and/or the like. Each of theantennas of the designed antenna assembly can be printed, deposited, orfabricated on a respective substrate layer and can be used as the EMfield generator 145 of the EMN system 100 of FIG. 1. Further, by virtueof employing straight linear portions to constitute the loop antennas,electromagnetic fields generated by each linear portion can betheoretically and accurately calculated using the Biot-Savart-Laplacelaw at any point in the EM volume.

FIG. 13 shows a graphical illustration of a loop antenna layout designedby the method 300 of FIG. 3. After connecting all the vertices,additional layout may be automatically generated based on a few designrules in place related to trace length and routing directionality. Theserules may be specific to a PCB software program or design requirements.In an aspect, the antenna design made by the method 300 may be convertedto a 2 dimensional DXF (Drawing eXchange Format) CAD file, which is thenimported into Altium PCB layout software. PCB layout software is notlimited to Altium PCB layout software but can be any software, which aperson having ordinary skill in the art would readily appreciate anduse.

Based on the design rules or design requirements of the software,vertices P₁₁ and P_(N4) are electrically coupled to a connector 1301,which includes at least two conductors 1301 a, 1301 b of the loopantenna, respectively, and a full blueprint of the loop antenna iscomplete.

Upon completion of the design of the antenna assembly, an antenna isfabricated, based on the antenna assembly design, by depositingelectrically conducting materials (e.g., silver or copper) on asubstrate, as shown in FIG. 13. The antenna printed on the substrateincludes structural and/or geometrical relationships between loops,which are described in detail below.

In an example aspect, vertices of the loop antenna can be grouped infour groups. The first group of vertices includes P₁₁, P₂₁, . . . , andP_(N1), the second group of vertices includes P₁₂, P₂₂, . . . , andP_(N2), the third group of vertices includes P₁₃, P₂₃, . . . , andP_(N3), and the fourth group of vertices includes P₁₄, P₂₄, . . . , andP_(N4). Because V_(layout_k) is different for each group, one group ofvertices may be more densely distributed than the other groups ofvertices. As shown in FIG. 13, vertices in the fourth group are moreloosely distributed than vertices in the other groups, and the verticesin the second or third group are more densely distributed than verticesin the first and fourth groups.

In another aspect, the shortest distance between two correspondinglinear portions (e.g., L_(jk) and L_((j+1)k)) increases as j increases.In other words, the distances between two adjacent corresponding linearportions are increasing in a direction from the innermost linear portionto the corresponding outermost linear portion. Based on this structuraland/or geometrical relationship among loops and vertices, the loopantenna can cover the substrate as much as possible while maintainingsuch a relationship.

In an embodiment, after connecting the vertices with linear portions,another safety measure may be employed to confirm that all therequirements are satisfied in the antenna design. For example, shortestdistances between two adjacent corresponding linear portions may becalculated again. In a case when there are any two adjacentcorresponding linear portions, between which the shortest distance isnot greater than TCCM, the procedure 300 can be repeated with adifferent minimum vertex to vertex distance VVM.

In an aspect, the design procedure 300 can enable maintainingsubstantially the same inductance of each loop antenna because theinductance is defined based at least in part on the antenna geometry.The resistance of the loop antenna may vary with copper thickness oneach layer. Thus, in order to ensure that the antenna assembly maintainsthe intended copper thickness, two additional layers (one on the top andthe other on the bottom) are added. With these extra layers, the platingprocessing for the vias would not add copper to the antenna layers onthe internal layers. Thus, the copper thickness may depend only on thecore material used and copper weight selected, initially. In anotheraspect, the PCB design may contain more than a single via for eachcurrent carrying path to minimize series resistance and increase therobustness of each current path. By having more vias, the resistance canbe predicted and automatically calculated with high accuracy based onthe antenna geometry and controlled copper thickness.

Turning now to FIG. 14, there is shown a block diagram of a computingdevice 1400, which can be used as the EMN system 100, the controlworkstation 102, the tracking device 160, and/or a computer performingthe procedure 300 of FIG. 3. The computing device 1400 may include oneor more of each of the following components: a memory 1402, a processor1404, a display 1406, network interface controller 1408, an input device1410, and/or an output module 1412.

The memory 1402 includes any non-transitory computer-readable storagemedia for storing data and/or software that is executable by theprocessor 1404 and which controls the operation of the computing device1400. In an embodiment, the memory 1402 may include one or moresolid-state storage devices such as flash memory chips. Alternatively,or in addition to the one or more solid-state storage devices, thememory 1402 may include one or more mass storage devices connected tothe processor 1404 through a mass storage controller (not shown in FIG.14) and a communications bus (not shown in FIG. 14). Although thedescription of computer-readable media contained herein refers to asolid-state storage, it should be appreciated by those skilled in theart that computer-readable storage media can be any available media thatcan be accessed by the processor 1404. That is, examples of computerreadable storage media include non-transitory, volatile andnon-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. For example, computer-readable storage media may includeRAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memorytechnology, CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-Ray or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the computing device1400.

The memory 1402 may store application 1416 and/or data 1414. Theapplication 1416 may, when executed by the processor 1404, cause thedisplay 1406 to present user interface 1418 on the display 1406.

The processor 1404 may be a general purpose processor, a specializedgraphic processing unit (GPU) configured to perform specific graphicsprocessing tasks while freeing up the general purpose processor toperform other tasks, a programmable logic device such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or complex programmable logic device(CPLD), and/or any number or combination of such processors or devicesconfigured to work independently or cooperatively.

The display 1406 may be touch-sensitive and/or voice-activated, enablingthe display 1406 to serve as both an input and output device.Alternatively, a keyboard (not shown), mouse (not shown), or other datainput devices may be employed.

The network interface 1408 may be configured to connect to a network,such as a local area network (LAN) including a wired network and/or awireless network, a wide area network (WAN), a wireless mobile network,a Bluetooth network, and/or the Internet. For example, the computingdevice 1400 may receive design requirements and predetermined variablesand perform the procedure 300 of FIG. 3 to design an antenna assembly.The computing device 1400 may receive updates to its software, forexample, application 1416, via the network interface controller 1408.The computing device 1400 may also display notifications on the display1406 that a software update is available.

In another aspect, the computing device 1400 may receive computedtomographic (CT) image data of a patient from a server, for example, ahospital server, Internet server, or other similar servers, for useduring surgical planning. Patient CT image data may also be provided tothe computing device 1400 via a removable memory (not shown in FIG. 14).

Input device 1410 may be any device by means of which a user mayinteract with the computing device 1400, such as, for example, a mouse,keyboard, foot pedal, touch screen, and/or voice interface.

Output module 1412 may include any connectivity port or bus, such as,for example, parallel ports, serial ports, universal serial busses(USB), or any other similar connectivity port known to those skilled inthe art.

The application 1416 may be one or more software programs stored in thememory 1402 and executed by the processor 1404 of the computing device1400. During a design phase for loop antennas, one or more softwareprograms in the application 1416 may be loaded from the memory 1402 andexecuted by the processor 1404 to automatically design loop antennas,given certain parameters and/or constraints, such as seed shapeinformation, the number of loops in each loop antenna, and/or the like.In some embodiments, during a planning phase, one or more programs inthe application 1416 guides a clinician through a series of steps toidentify a target, size the target, size a treatment zone, and/ordetermine an access route to the target for later use during thenavigation or procedure phase. In some other embodiments, one or moresoftware programs in the application 1416 may be loaded on computingdevices in an operating room or other facility where surgical proceduresare performed, and is used as a plan or map to guide a clinicianperforming a surgical procedure, but without any feedback from themedical device used in the procedure to indicate where the medicaldevice is located in relation to the plan.

The application 1416 may be installed directly on the computing device1400, or may be installed on another computer, for example a centralserver, and opened on the computing device 1400 via the networkinterface 1408. Application 1416 may run natively on the computingdevice 1400, as a web-based application, or any other format known tothose skilled in the art. In some embodiments, the application 1416 willbe a single software program having all of the features andfunctionality described in the present disclosure. In other embodiments,the application 1416 may be two or more distinct software programsproviding various parts of these features and functionality. Forexample, the application 1416 may include one software program forautomatically designing loop antennas, another one for converting thedesign into a CAD file, and a third program for PCB layout softwareprogram. In such instances, the various software programs forming partof the application 1416 may be enabled to communicate with each otherand/or import and export various data including settings and parametersrelating to the design of the loop antennas. For example, a design of aloop antenna generated by one software program may be stored andexported to be used by a second software program to convert into a CADfile, and the converted file may be also stored and exported to be usedby a PCB layout software program to complete a blueprint of the loopantenna.

The application 1416 may communicate with a user interface 1418 whichgenerates a user interface for presenting visual interactive features toa user, for example, on the display 1406 and for receiving input, forexample, via a user input device. For example, user interface 1418 maygenerate a graphical user interface (GUI) and output the GUI to thedisplay 1406 for viewing by a user.

In a case that the computing device 1400 may be used as the EMN system100, the control workstation 102, or the tracking device 160, thecomputing device 1400 may be linked to the monitoring device 130, thusenabling the computing device 1400 to control the output on themonitoring device 130 along with the output on the display 1406. Thecomputing device 1400 may control the monitoring device 130 to displayoutput which is the same as or similar to the output displayed on thedisplay 1406. For example, the output on the display 1406 may bemirrored on the monitoring device 130. Alternatively, the computingdevice 1400 may control the monitoring device 130 to display differentoutput from that displayed on the display 1406. For example, themonitoring device 130 may be controlled to display guidance images andinformation during the surgical procedure, while the display 1406 iscontrolled to display other output, such as configuration or statusinformation of an electrosurgical generator (not shown in FIG. 1).

The application 1416 may include one software program for use during theplanning phase, and a second software program for use during thenavigation or procedural phase. In such instances, the various softwareprograms forming part of application 1416 may be enabled to communicatewith each other and/or import and export various settings and parametersrelating to the navigation and treatment and/or the patient to shareinformation. For example, a treatment plan and any of its componentsgenerated by one software program during the planning phase may bestored and exported to be used by a second software program during theprocedure phase.

Although embodiments have been described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings for the purpose of illustration and description,it is to be understood that the inventive processes and apparatus arenot to be construed as limited. It will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art that various modifications to the foregoing embodimentsmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of designing, via auser interface, an antenna assembly for radiating an electromagneticfield for electromagnetic navigation, the method comprising: computing,relative to a coordinate system of a substrate having a boundary, aplurality of diagonal lines based on a seed rectangle having a pluralityof vertices, wherein the plurality of diagonal lines bisect theplurality of vertices of the seed rectangle, respectively, and extendfrom the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle to the boundary;for each of the plurality of diagonal lines: computing a layout distancebetween the respective vertex of the seed rectangle and the boundaryalong the respective diagonal line; determining, based at least in parton the computed layout distance, a plurality of distances between aplurality of adjacent pairs of planar antenna vertices, respectively, tobe positioned along the respective diagonal line, wherein the distancebetween any adjacent pair of planar antenna vertices progressivelyincreases in a direction from the respective vertex of the seedrectangle to the boundary; and positioning the planar antenna verticesalong the respective diagonal line based on the determined plurality ofdistances; generating, via the user interface, a planar antenna layoutby interconnecting the planar antenna vertices by way of respectivestraight linear portions to form a plurality of loops sequentiallytraversing each of the plurality of diagonal lines; and displaying theplanar antenna layout via the user interface.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the pluralityof distances are determined based at least in part on a predeterminednumber of loops of the planar antenna.
 3. The computer-implementedmethod according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of distances aredetermined based at least in part on at least one of a predeterminedminimum spacing between adjacent vertices or a predetermined minimumspacing between adjacent traces.
 4. The computer-implemented methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a plurality of layersand the method further comprises generating a plurality of planarantenna layouts corresponding to the plurality of layers, respectively.5. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: adding to the planar antenna layout a plurality of straightlinear portions routed from at least two of the planar antenna verticesto a connector location with respect to the coordinate system of thesubstrate.
 6. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1,wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of thestraight linear portions and a plurality of the planar antenna vertices.7. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein anoutermost planar antenna vertex of the plurality of planar antennavertices is distanced from the boundary of the substrate by not morethan a predetermined threshold.
 8. The computer-implemented methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: exporting data correspondingto the generated planar antenna layout to at least one of a circuitboard routing tool or a circuit board manufacturing tool.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method according to claim 1, further comprising:exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout toan electromagnetic simulation tool, and simulating, based on theexported data, an electromagnetic field based on superposition of aplurality of electromagnetic field components from the plurality ofstraight linear portions of the planar antenna layout, respectively. 10.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that,when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method ofdesigning, via a user interface, an antenna assembly for radiating anelectromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation, the methodcomprising: computing, relative to a coordinate system of a substratehaving a boundary, a plurality of diagonal lines based on a seedrectangle having a plurality of vertices, wherein the plurality ofdiagonal lines bisect the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle,respectively, and extend from the plurality of vertices of the seedrectangle to the boundary; for each of the plurality of diagonal lines:computing a layout distance between the respective vertex of the seedrectangle and the boundary along the respective diagonal line;determining, based at least in part on the computed layout distance, aplurality of distances between a plurality of adjacent pairs of planarantenna vertices, respectively, to be positioned along the respectivediagonal line, wherein the distance between any adjacent pair of planarantenna vertices progressively increases in a direction from therespective vertex of the seed rectangle to the boundary, and positioningthe planar antenna vertices along the respective diagonal line based onthe determined plurality of distances; generating, via the userinterface, a planar antenna layout by interconnecting the planar antennavertices by way of respective straight linear portions to form aplurality of loops sequentially traversing each of the plurality ofdiagonal lines; and displaying the planar antenna layout via the userinterface.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according toclaim 10, wherein the plurality of distances are determined based atleast in part on a predetermined number of loops of the planar antenna.12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 10,wherein the plurality of distances are determined based at least in parton at least one of a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacentvertices or a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacent traces. 13.The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 10,wherein the substrate has a plurality of layers and the method furthercomprises generating a plurality of planar antenna layouts correspondingto the plurality of layers, respectively.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium to claim 10, wherein the method furthercomprises: adding to the planar antenna layout a plurality of straightlinear portions routed from at least two of the planar antenna verticesto a connector location with respect to the coordinate system of thesubstrate.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according toclaim 10, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality ofthe straight linear portions and a plurality of the planar antennavertices.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according toclaim 10, wherein an outermost planar antenna vertex of the plurality ofplanar antenna vertices is distanced from the boundary of the substrateby not more than a predetermined threshold.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium according to claim 10, wherein the methodfurther comprises: exporting data corresponding to the generated planarantenna layout to at least one of a circuit board routing tool or acircuit board manufacturing tool.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium according to claim 10, wherein the methodfurther comprises: exporting data corresponding to the generated planarantenna layout to an electromagnetic simulation tool, and simulating,based on the exported data, an electromagnetic field based onsuperposition of a plurality of electromagnetic field components fromthe plurality of straight linear portions of the planar antenna layout,respectively.
 19. A computer-implemented method of designing, via a userinterface, an antenna assembly for radiating an electromagnetic fieldfor electromagnetic navigation, the method comprising: computing,relative to a coordinate system of a substrate having a boundary, aplurality of diagonal lines based on a seed rectangle having a pluralityof vertices, wherein the plurality of diagonal lines bisect theplurality of vertices of the seed rectangle, respectively, and extendfrom the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle to the boundary;for each of the plurality of diagonal lines: computing a layout distancebetween the respective vertex of the seed rectangle and the boundaryalong the respective diagonal line; determining, based at least in parton the computed layout distance, a plurality of distances between aplurality of adjacent pairs of planar antenna vertices, respectively, tobe positioned along the respective diagonal line, wherein the pluralityof distances increase in a direction from the respective vertex of theseed rectangle to the boundary; and positioning the planar antennavertices along the respective diagonal line based on the determinedplurality of distances; generating, via the user interface, a planarantenna layout by interconnecting the planar antenna vertices by way ofrespective straight linear portions to form a plurality of loopssequentially traversing each of the plurality of diagonal lines; anddisplaying the planar antenna layout via the user interface.